The Dangers of Consuming Extra Spicy Food

What makes the food taste spicy?

Capsaicinoids are the class of compounds found in members of the pepper’s family. The most common capsaicinoid is capsaicin. It is a chemical component that present in peppers that create their spicy taste.

How Spicy Food Causes Diarrhea?

When you consume spicy food, the receptors in the mouth and tongue that sense hot temperatures and pain gets irritated. This tricks your brain into thinking that your mouth is on fire. As a response, our body releases own pain blocker known as endorphins. This causes you to have a happy feeling while eating spicy food. You will tend to eat more.

As the spicy food moves along the gut, the capsaicin molecule continues irritates the small intestine, causing extra mucus to be released into the intestine. This moves the food quickly than usual and reach the colon. Once it reaches the colon, the digestion speeds up due to the receptors are being stimulated aggressively. The colon continues to accelerate the whole process and stop absorbing water. This resulting in watery stools and diarrhea.

Sometime, people may feel that their anus is on fire during bowel motion. This is because the same receptor is being activated as the capsaicin molecule passing through.

Capsaicin also leads to other side effects such as triggering vomiting and esophageal tear, heartburn, worsen gastritis, irritates nose, mouth, and lungs as well as allergy and asthma.

Sometime, people may feel that their anus is on fire during bowel motion. This is because the same receptor is being activated as the capsaicin molecule passing through.

Capsaicin also leads to other side effects such as triggering vomiting and esophageal tear, heartburn, worsen gastritis, irritates nose, mouth, and lungs as well as allergy and asthma.

Uma Sharma. (2017, October 12). What happens to your brain and body when you eat a hot pepper. Retrieved from Business Insider Malaysia: https://www.businessinsider.my/eating-spicy-food-capsaicin-hot-pepper-side-effects-2017-10/